Our department pot luck

G had its annual holiday lunch yesterday and I grabbed my camera to shoot the food before the troops dug in.

I made deviled eggs -- I knew I had the fixings around. It turns out I didn't have enough eggs or mayonnaise, so I went ahead and cooked the eggs I had on hand the night before, ran out for mayo the next morning, and piped the rest of the curried yolks onto little logs of cucumber.

Arts Editor Scott Heller's kugel:

Movies Editor Thomasine Berg's roasted Brussels sprouts and asparagus:

Web guru Michael Saunders's sweet potato pudding:

Reporter Joey Kahn's very popular turkey chili (as you can see, the guests got to it before I did):

Theatre critic Louise Kennedy's oatmeal crisps (courtesy of Martha Stewart):

Turkey and sausage chili
Serves 10

4 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 Spanish onions, chopped
2 pounds mixed hot and sweet turkey (or chicken) sausage, removed from casing and crumbled
3 pounds ground turkey
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 can (12 ounces) tomato paste
2 tablespoons ground cumin
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons each dried basil and oregano
1/2 cup red wine
2 cans (28 ounces each) plum tomatoes, crushed by hand
2 cans (16 ounces each) kidney beans, drained
Juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Salt and pepper, to taste
3 cups shredded cheddar (for sprinkling)
1 cup chopped scallions (for serving)
2 cups sour cream (for serving)

1. In a large heavy-based casserole, heat the oil. Cook the onions over medium heat, stirring often, for 10 minutes.
2. Add the crumbled sausage and cook for 3 minutes, stirring to break the pieces up even more.
3. Add the ground turkey and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.
4. Stir in the tomato paste, cumin, chili powder, mustard, basil, and oregano. Pour in the wine and tomatoes and stir thoroughly. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and cook the mixture, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes.
5. Add the kidney beans, lemon juice, cilantro, salt, and pepper. Continue cooking for 15 minutes.
6. Spoon the chili into deep bowls, sprinkle with cheese, and pass scallions and sour cream. Adapted from "The Silver Palate Cookbook"